Buzz Williams doctors Marquette's toughest non-conference schedule

When the topic of Marquette's pre-Big East basketball schedule was raised, Buzz Williams channeled Yogi Berra.

"I don't like to think about it, now that I'm thinking about it," the coach said after a preseason workout earlier this week.

The schedule did not get any easier by the time media day rolled around Friday.

Ohio State on a ship deck. The Maui Invitational. At Florida. The usual slugfest with Wisconsin. At a UW-Green Bay team that is better than most probably anticipate. LSU.

"Is it the right thing for your coaching career? No," Williams said. "Is it the right thing for the development of our team? Yes."

He will admit that he overscheduled for the returning talent, which is nonetheless well-regarded despite the loss of two players now collecting NBA paychecks.

But what was he going to do?

Say no when Maui was offered after the Golden Eagles made the Sweet 16 for a second consecutive year? Or reject a chance to play the Buckeyes in the Carrier Classic to begin the season?

"We can't turn down that kind of exposure," he said.

Better to over-schedule than to be accused of taking a market stroll through the creampuff aisle.

And the Golden Eagles are no one's idea of an underdog, even if they'll have to figure out how to defend and collect offensive rebounds without the power that left with Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom.

Williams might be sandbagging just a little, but he is preparing the team's followers for a sub-.500 record by Thanksgiving.

They might just surprise. That's the players' story, and they're sticking to it.

"Everybody every year says everybody's going to be a challenge for us, and we come out and play well," junior guard Vander Blue said.

Then again, he's never played a collegiate season without the Sweet 16.

"We know what we can do," he said. "I feel like we can play against anybody. Obviously we have a tough schedule, but that's going to help us in March. We can play D-III schools, but that doesn't make us any better. It actually hurts us when we run into a big team.

"I feel like Buzz is doing the right thing by scheduling those teams right out of the gates. We play Ohio State the first game. Not many teams can say that. I feel like Coach is putting us in a great position for success.

"Nothing in life is easy. We don't want to play easy opponents. We want to come out and play the heavy hitters first."

Williams said he could do nothing about his first schedule with Marquette because it was set by the time Tom Crean left for Indiana. In following years, he didn't like the balance between difficult and easy opponents.

"There was too much of a separation," he said.

His primary concern is that the games will come at Marquette like water from a fire hose.

There will be very little time between the opener against Ohio State in Charleston, S.C., and the two games before Maui.

The coach can fret about how to run that preseason gauntlet.

The players couldn't be happier.

"It's one of the top schedules in the country," redshirt senior center Chris Otule said. "But over the years we've proven that we deserve a tough schedule like this. We're going to show how we play."

Bring it on, senior guard Trent Lockett said. In due time.

"We really look forward to competing against the best," he said. "But we have a lot of work to do before we can even start thinking about Ohio State."

About Michael Hunt

Michael Hunt is a former sports columnist and reporter for the Journal Sentinel.